To Be a Friend
by Scooter Kitty
Summary: Post Grave Danger. Strange, little oneshot that's been rattling around in my brain for a while. Catherine and Nick try to teach Sam Braun a lesson about friendship.


9/18/05

TO BE A FRIEND

Lying on his couch in a half-doze, Nick stared at the TV. He was watching a tape of last night's pre-season hockey game, the Dallas Stars against the Chicago Blackhawks. Dallas was winning, of course. In fact, it was only midway through the second period and the game was already a blow-out. At this point, Nick was simply allowing the constant flow of the commentators' words to lull him to sleep.

The loud, intrusive sound of a knock on his front door brought the investigator instantly back to a fully alert state. Climbing to his feet and running a hand absently through his dark hair, Nick went to the door and peered through the peep hole. A white-haired, 60-something man, in an expensive, gray suit stood on the doorstep. Another man, large enough to require his own area code, stood impassively behind the first one. Sam Braun? Nick realized after a moment. What the hell does Sam Braun want with me?

Realizing he wasn't going to get his question answered through a closed door, he slid back the chain and unlocked the deadbolt. Pulling the door open, he gazed at the white-haired man expectantly.

Braun gave him an unctuous smile and said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Stokes. I don't believe that you and I have ever formally met. My name is Sam Braun."

"I know who you are. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to speak with you. It'll only take a few minutes of your time. May I come in?"

"Okay, you can come in, but he stays out here," Nick said, gesturing to the human mountain looming behind the casino mogul.

"Fair enough," Braun said, his smile never wavering. "Jock, you wait out here," he called over his shoulder and the investigator half expected the older man to toss the bodyguard a treat.

Nick stepped aside and gestured for Braun to enter. The casino owner stepped into the small house and glanced around, noting the singularly masculine decor, which screamed 'bachelor', and the meticulous neatness which directly contradicted the first impression.

The two men stood staring at each other for a moment, before Nick belatedly remembered to be a good host. He switched off the TV and offered the other man a seat. Braun sat himself at one end of the long couch and crossed his legs, automatically making himself at home. Nick had to admit that even long past his prime, Sam Braun still managed to cut an elegant and graceful figure. He was obviously supremely comfortable in his own skin and he oozed confidence out of every pore.

The younger man perched nervously on the edge of the couch at the opposite end. "What do you want with me, Mr. Braun?" he asked.

"I just thought it would be nice for us to chat. You know, get to know each other."

"Why would we do that?"

"Well, you are involved with my daughter."

"Catherine? I work with her. I'd hardly call that being 'involved'."

Braun gave Nick a patronizing smile. "Come now, we both know it's much more than that."

"Sir, I don't know where you got that impression, but I assure you, there's nothing going on between us."

Braun was silent for a long moment, staring at the younger man with narrowed eyes. He could hear the sincerity in the other man's words as well as the confusion. Sam Braun had spent a lifetime in Vegas learning how to read people. He had long ago developed a kind of sixth sense which allowed him to tell whenever someone was lying to him. He could tell that the young man before him did not lie often and probably wasn't very good at it.

"Maybe you don't even know," he said softly, speaking more to himself. "She's never told you, has she?"

"Sir?"

"Catherine is in love with you."

Nick only just managed not to laugh out loud at that statement. "Uh, no sir, I'm sorry, but I really don't think so."

"You're the one who was kidnapped, aren't you? It was all over the news."

The investigator said nothing, but looked away from the older man, suddenly very uncomfortable with the turn of the conversation.

"You are," Braun said, answering his own question. "Catherine came to me and asked me for a million dollars to pay your ransom. Now, my daughter barely even speaks to me. She has never asked me for a dime for herself or her daughter, but she came to me and asked for a million dollars to get you back. Now, why would she do that if she wasn't in love with you?"

Nick still said nothing. Grissom had told him about what Catherine had done. Knowing how she felt about her father, Nick could imagine what that had cost the proud woman. It had made him uncomfortable to hear of it, but it had also made him understand just how much he meant to her and he had been immensely touched. But he also knew that she would have done the same thing if it had been Warrick, Sara, Greg or Grissom who had been taken.

"Because she's my friend," Nick said at last. "She was trying to help me. That's what friends do for each other."

Braun gave another one of those patronizing smiles and said, "Right. Listen, I just wanted to point out to you that there could be advantages to being Sam Braun's son-in-law. You and Catherine could live in a nice home. You could come and work for me. A nice, good-looking young man like you could do well in the business. That Texas boy-next-door charm of yours could be quite an asset, a refreshing change. Think about it."

Nick sat stunned by the words he was hearing. Was the man serious? Did he really think Catherine was in love with him? And did he really think Nick would ever consent to work for him, under any circumstances?

"Look, Nick, may I call you Nick? I'm just trying to do right by my daughter. I know I haven't always done that for her. I haven't been there for her the way I should have been, but I want to change all that. I want her to be happy. And if you make her happy, then I want the two of you to be together. She's a beautiful woman, who could possibly inherit billions some day. A man could certainly suffer worse fates."

"Are you trying to bribe me into marrying Catherine?"

"I am simply trying to make my daughter happy. What's wrong with that?"

While the investigator sat silently trying to wrap his brain around this utterly surreal conversation, Braun stood. Brushing the wrinkles from his expensive, Italian suit, he moved toward the door. Pulling himself out of his thoughts and remembering his manners, Nick stood also to escort his 'guest' to the door. As both men reached it, Braun stopped and turned back to the younger man. Reaching into the breast pocket of his suit jacket, he pulled out a long envelope. He handed it to Nick.

"This is for you," the casino owner said. "I want you to think about this conversation for a while. I know you'll do the right thing. Catherine is a good woman and she loves you. You could also make her a very happy woman. And remember, making her happy would make me happy."

After the door closed behind the Braun, Nick looked out the peephole and watched the man climb into his limo, Jock, the walking mountain, hovering protectively nearby. Once the long, black car had disappeared from his sight, Nick turned his attention the envelope in his hand.

He tore it open and found a slip of paper inside. Taking out this slip, he found it was a check, made out to him from Sam Braun. Nick gave a soft gasp, he had never seen so many zeros all grouped together in once place like that, with his name attached.

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"Uh, Catherine, could I talk to you for a minute?" Nick asked, gesturing to the door of the break room. He had just gotten in to work for the evening and had found Catherine, Greg and Warrick already in the lounge, waiting for Grissom to arrive with their assignments.

"Yeah, sure, what's up?" she said, standing and following him out to hallway.

Taking her arm, he led her to an empty conference room. Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he pulled out the check and handed it to her.

"I had a very strange visit from Sam Braun earlier this afternoon," he said.

Catherine's jaw dropped at the amount on the check. "What the hell?" she swore. "What is this for?"

"Apparently, Daddy Dearest is under the impression that you're in love with me."

"What! No offense, Nick, but what the hell would give him that idea?"

"Oh, how 'bout the fact that you asked him for a million dollars to save my sorry ass."

"Oh, Nick, I am so sorry that you got dragged into the middle of my dysfunctional family melodrama," Catherine said, laying a hand on the younger man's arm.

"Hey, no sweat, Cath. I mean, if the man wants to drop by my house and throw hefty checks and job offers at me, I think I can handle it."

"He offered you a job!" She gave a short, bitter laugh, which died almost immediately as the true meaning of these things sank in. "What is all this, bribery? Does he think I need him to bribe men to go out with me?"

Nick gave an uncomfortable, noncommittal shrug.

"I'm going to kill him," she said quietly. Turning her attention back to her fellow investigator, she gestured with the check. "Thank you for telling me about this and don't worry, I'll take care of it... Oh, look, there's Grissom. Come on, we don't want to be late for assignments."

As they were walking into the break room, Grissom turned to Catherine and held out a slip of paper for her. "Dead stripper found in an alley off of Fremont Street," he said.

The red-head snatched the slip and said, "Great, Nick's with me tonight."

She gave Grissom a challenging look as he raised an eyebrow at her brusque tone. Seeing that she was spoiling for a fight, the supervisor wisely decided not to push the issue. Turning back to the rest of the team, he said, "Uh, okay then, Sara, you're with Warrick. Greg, you have a B & E over on Bespin Rd. Your first solo."

"Sweet!" the former lab tech said, grinning broadly as he took the slip of paper.

"Come on, Nick, let's go," Catherine said, taking her partner's arm and pulling him back out the door. Once out in the hallway, she added in an undertone, "We have a stop to make on the way."

"The Tangiers?" he asked.

"The Tangiers."

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Catherine was practically vibrating with her anger as she and Nick stood outside Sam Braun's private office, waiting for the man to deign to speak with them. When the double wooden doors finally opened and Braun stepped out, smiling broadly, she stiffly allowed him to kiss her cheek.

Turning to Nick, she said, "Why don't you wait out here while Sam and I talk?"

"Sure, no problem," her fellow CSI said gratefully, taking a seat in one of the comfortable, leather chairs outside the office.

Inside Braun's office, as soon as the doors had closed and her father had seated himself behind his large desk, Catherine pounced. She slapped the check down on the desk in front of Braun.

"What the hell is this?" she demanded.

He didn't even look down at the check, knowing perfectly well what it was. In truth, he was actually glad to see it. It meant that he hadn't misjudged Stokes. The young man was honest, honest enough not to accept a bribe for the affections of a woman he obviously already cared about. The check had been a test of sorts and Stokes had passed. He was worthy of Sam Braun's daughter.

"I was just trying to help the young man out," Braun said calmly. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nick doesn't need your help, Sam, and neither do I. Stay away from my friends!"

"Friends? Come on now, Mugs, I'm not stupid. You're in love with him. Why else would you have asked me for the money to save him?"

"Because he's my friend, because at the time, I was his supervisor. He was my responsibility... And because I didn't want to watch my friend die, when I had the means to possibly save him!"

"Catherine, it's alright, I understand. You've been hurt more than once by men. You're reluctant to admit your feelings. I mean, Eddie was a cheating bastard and if I had thought you would've listened to me, I would've told you that Chris Bezich was a snake. But I think you can trust this one. He seems like a good man and you deserve a good man."

"You're not even listening to me," the CSI said in exasperation. "Look, Sam, I do love Nick, yes, but I am not in love with him. We're friends, that's it."

"Let me tell you something, Mugs, I've lived for a long time. I know how things work between the opposite sexes. Men and women are never truly just friends. There's always something sexual, on one side or the other. If the interest happens to be mutual, well then, go for it, but it's never 'just friends'."

The red head stood for a long time, staring at this man who simply happened to share her genes. "You really believe that, don't you?" she said softly. "You've never really had a true friend, have you, Sam? Of either sex. There has never been anyone in your life that you cared about unconditionally. Someone whom you would do anything for, not because you wanted something from them or they were useful to you, but simply because you enjoyed their company. I don't think you even felt that way about your own sons, certainly not Walt. As for Tony, he was useful and he made you look good, didn't he?

"I really feel sorry for you, Sam, to have never experienced the joys of having a friend, not a loyal employee, or a good business associate, or even a lover, but just a friend. I do have friends and I care about them very much. And I don't need you to buy them for me. Now, as much as I appreciate that you helped me when Nick was in trouble, I want you to stay away from them."

Reaching down, she picked up the check and tore it in half. Letting the pieces flutter back to the desk top, she turned and left the office.

"Come on, Nick, we have a DB waiting for us," she said as she rejoined her partner.

Seeing her strange, sad expression, the younger man said nothing and fell into step beside her as they returned to the public area of the casino.

In his office, Sam moved slowly to the bank of monitors which displayed the footage from the various security cameras. His eyes sought the screen which showed the front entrance of the casino and found it just in time to see Catherine and Nick leaving the building, walking at a brisk pace. They didn't appear to be speaking at all, and yet seemed comfortable with each other all them same, as if words were not necessarily needed between them. They made a very attractive couple, Sam thought sadly.

Catherine had been wrong. He did know what it was like to care about someone unconditionally. That was exactly how he felt about her. And he had had a friend once, someone whom he had simply enjoyed being with, with no ulterior motives. Unfortunately that friendship had fallen apart when she had discovered that he was her father and was not the great guy she had thought he was.

All Sam wanted was for Catherine to love him, but he didn't think he would ever be able to convince her of that. Of course that would never stop him from loving her.

THE END


End file.
